Planned mediation sessions next week have been canceled by the judge overseeing them because the two sides have ongoing "settlement discussions". Because jumping out of your chair after hearing morse code on how to bring down alien invaders, this doesn't mean the two sides are close to a deal. Both sides ended two days worth of negotiations on Thursday, which has some believing that this is the beginning of the lockout's end.
The talks, which were secret until disclosed by the media, began Tuesday evening in the Chicago area and included NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the dissolved players’ union. They were taken by some as a signal that a deal could be possible in time to preserve the entire upcoming season.
Former Bengals offensive lineman and Super Bowl XVI starter Dave Lapham, who is currently the color analyst on the radio, boiled down the lockout to it's most common component.
“It’s about egos and greed, which can be a poisonous cocktail,” he said.
Lapham joined several former sports stars at the 22nd annual Joe Nuxhall Memorial Scholarship Golf Open this week.